Overview

• President Droupadi Murmu signed the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Bill, 2025 into law, with provisions taking effect upon a formal commencement notification.
• Major platforms including Dream11 parent Dream Sports, MPL, Zupee, Gameskraft, Games24x7, PokerBaazi and Probo have paused paid contests, stopped new deposits and kept withdrawals open.
• The Act outlaws offering, operating, promoting or facilitating money-based online games regardless of skill or chance, bans advertising, orders banks and other financial entities to block payments, and sets penalties up to three years in jail and Rs 1 crore, with separate sanctions for promoters and repeat offenses.
• The framework establishes a national authority to categorise and register games, promotes eSports and online social or educational titles, and provides enforcement tools under IT law.
• Industry groups and companies are preparing court challenges, with reports flagging potential job losses and investment write-downs, and commentators highlighting policy inconsistencies such as licensed offshore casinos in Goa remaining operational.